


His Journey Home

by panemsfire



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Backstory, Canon Compliant, M/M, based off of “betty” by taylor swift, some lyrics are changed to fit the story/characters, this song is literally them i’m so sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25887910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panemsfire/pseuds/panemsfire
Summary: Sejanus and Marcus reflect on their torn relationship after 10 years of absence, but nothing is truly said out loud.
Relationships: Marcus/Sejanus Plinth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	His Journey Home

_Marcus, I won’t make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom, but I think it’s ‘cause of me._

His hand tightly grips the cage bar, eyes burning with tears. The last sandwich is ripped from his fingers before he can call out his name one last time.

_Sejanus, one time I was riding my skateboard, when I passed your house, it’s like I couldn’t breathe._

He tilts his head back against the wall, keeping his eyes locked on the boy with the sandwiches, the acting skills on him. Impressive. He’s not fooling Marcus, pretending he cares about him. He turns away as anger flares up across his cheeks.

 _You heard the rumors from the districts, you can’t believe a word they say._

“Do you even think he remembers you?” Coriolanus spat. Sejanus lowers his head in shame. He wishes he didn’t, this would be much less complicated.

_Most times, but this time it was true. The worst thing that I ever did, was what I did to you._

“I didn’t want to leave, please, Marcus.” His lips tremble in his sleep, he wakes up gasping for air, tugging the bed sheets. He lies back down with tears streaming down his face.

_But if I just showed up at your house, would you have me? Would you want me?_

The bale of hay stabs at his back, he twitches. His body was too big for the stack anyway, so he kicks it away from him. His stomach rumbles, he should’ve taken that sandwich.

_Would you tell me to go fuck myself? Or lead me to the garden?_

The silence is strong. It’s painful. The tension grows as Sejanus leans forward in his seat. “I’m so sorry..” He can’t say anything else, he’s crying into his palms as Marcus clenches the sides of his chair harder.

_In the garden, would you trust me?_

Marcus’s fingers tingle to numbness, the cold metal pricks at his skin. “You were gone.” He grits his teeth, he gazes sharply at Sejanus’s dark hairs.

_Marcus, I know where it all went wrong. Your favorite song was playing, from the far side of the gym._

Sejanus shakes his head, a tear makes a trail down his neck as he whimpers. “I had no choice!” His voice raises more than he had intended, Marcus doesn’t budge.

_I was nowhere to be found, I hate the crowds, you know that._

Sejanus’s distress made him squirm in his seat, I bet no other mentor has history like this with their tribute. “You didn’t even say goodbye.”

_I was walking home on broken cobblestones, just thinking of you._

“I tried to run away, to come back home.” Sejanus admits, he crumbles the interview questions between his fist and throws it to the side. “My father screamed at me for running, my ma cried with me.”

_I dreamt of you._

“I kept seeing you everywhere. I thought you were gonna come back.” Marcus’s voice is low and monotone, he’s so tired. Of the games, of the torture.

_Marcus, I’m here on your doorstep. And I planned it out for weeks now, but it’s finally sinking in._

Sejanus doesn’t sleep a wink that night, he holds the marble heart to his chest. Marcus had brought it to him as a gift, when they were children, thinking nothing of it.

_Sejanus, right now is the last time I can dream about what happens, when you see my face again._

Marcus’s eyes are heavy. He lies on the monkey-house’s floor with his body shivering from the breeze. To distract himself, he thinks about the times where he’d play at the park with the boy from the Capitol. The boy from home.

_The only thing I wanna do, is make it up to you._

He walks aside Marcus, the idea of touring around the arena like it’s some type of school field trip is sickening to him. He looks up at Marcus, he must’ve sensed that his mentor is yearning for him to speak. He turns and looks down at Sejanus, but a wind of fire and debris blows them away from one another.

_Will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends?_

Sejanus stands up, legs wobbling from the impact. He looks for his tribute, he catches sight of him, his lips form his name, but he’s already running home.

_If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings?_

The way Coriolanus talks about Lucy Gray, that’s how he felt about Marcus. He can’t deny it no longer. The heart racing, the worrying, the tension. Gaul brought him up today in class, his breakfast stings at his throat, threatening to come up.

_I’m only eighteen, I don’t know anything,_

This boy, with graceful short black hair, rough skin, cracked lips, bruises spread across his face and body, had won Sejanus over. He did when they were kids, too. Now, he was unrecognizable as he hung from the poles, his face dripping with blood.

_But I know I miss you._

Rage. He was seething with anger. He felt his whole body grow hot as he hurled the chair onto the screen. His fellow classmates show no reaction to his tribute’s agony. “You’re all monsters!” He hopes they take that to heart, because he doesn’t regret a damn thing.

_Standing in your cardigan,_

As Sejanus leans against a wall and falls to his knees, he remembers the times where he’d quiver on the playground, and Marcus had always worn a jacket, so he laid it across his shoulders.

_Kissin’ in my car again,_

Sejanus had kissed him on the cheek once. It was fast and practically meaningless at the time, considering they were silly little kids that ran on orange juice and animal crackers. With their lips puckered all the way out, it was innocent and sweet. Sejanus mourns the feeling as he rises from the ground.

_Stopped at a streetlight,_

His skin is cold. His body is hard. Sejanus cringes and immediately covers his mouth in disgust and disturbance. He trembles, then stands holding his hand out, the breadcrumbs fall onto his body. 

_You know I miss you._

He lands back onto his knees and runs his thumb over Marcus’s eyelids, if you look past the torment and suffering, he looks peaceful. He looks like he’s sleeping. Sejanus’s soft smile spreads across his face before he can stop it. He’s on his journey home.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! <3 stream folklore


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